Night of Destruction
by Pohatu
Summary: The quilboar organize a raid on Mulgore. However, between them and their target is a single village. The attack acts as a defining moment for a Tauren who is left orphaned.


Renji jerked awake as he heard a loud crash, this crash followed by a bellow of rage he recognized all too clearly as his father's. Thinking his father had found his pet prairie dog, the young bull started to move out the warmth of his blankets...until he heard the even more familiar squealing of quilboar. His lower lip quivering, the shaman and warrior in training poked his nose through the flap that separated his section of the hut from the living area, gasping as he saw his father, clad only in a simple loin cloth, beating back four quilboar. The elder Tauren had a rather large shield in one hand, a blunted, but still effective, ax in his other hand. As if able to sense his son, the member of the Ragetotem clan glanced over his shoulder, fixing a heated glare upon his son. "Hide!"

Darting back behind the flap, Renji had had just enough time to see his mother, clad in her only most simple of robes, shift into her ghost wolf form as she dove out a side flap. Diving underneath his blankets again, the young bull attempted to relax, even as he heard the chilling howl that the ghost wolves were known for. The howl was shortly followed by a squeal of pain from one of the quilboar. Shivering a bit, the young Raiken shifted more under his blankets, until a roar of pain from his father pulled him out. Poking aside the flap again, Renji gasped as he saw his father again, the elder Tauren now have quite a few open gashes upon his torso and arms. The warrior looked over his shoulder at his son, a look of pain now upon his face. "Taurajo. GO!"

Nodding, the younger of the two male Tauren ran out the same side flap that his mother had, just happening to bowl over one of smaller quilboar who had just happened to try and run into the house through that same flap. Hesitating a moment, Renji ran his hoof directly into the jaw of the quilboar, a crack being heard despite the youth's obvious runt size. Pausing for a moment, the young shaman focused, attempting to shift into a ghost wolf as his mother had. As the squeals of the invasion continued, however, Renji re-opened his eyes, the turquoise color muttled up by held back tears. Shaking his head in frustration, the bull took off on the path he had memorized so long ago, moving as quick as his runt legs could handle.

***

The chief yawned a bit as he settled down into bed, pulling the leather covers up close to his chest. Gazing off to the other side of the bed, the elderly bull frowned gently as he placed his hand on the empty spot, shaking his head. "Those quilboar...."

Just as the old bull's eyes started to close, the front flap of his house was thrown aside. Going by pure instinct, the chief picked up the totem that lay on the floor beside his bed. Raising it up over his head as he moved out of the bed, his eyes narrowed as he watched the flap that separated his bedroom from the living area. About to swing, the chief's violence was interrupted by a familiar, young voice. "CHIEF!"

Gasping, the announced dropped the totem and swept back the flap, moving forward just in time to catch Renji as the younger bull fell against the chief of Taurajo. Just holding him for a few moments, the chief then lifted him up, noticing the trail that fell from the runt's eyes. "Renji. What happened? Why are you here so late?"

"Quilboar...attack...my parents...." Renji's chest heaved between each word, although he fell to tears again after mentioning his parents. Burying his face against the chief's large chest, which was exposed due to it being so late, the child only gained a short bit of comfort. Setting down the child gently, the chief picked his totem back up, moving out of his tent again. Slamming his weapon upon the drum that sat beside the entrance only once, a troop of soldiers immediately shortly followed, gathering around the chief.

"My Tauren brethren! The quilboar again seek to destroy our kind! They attempt to sneak past us and push into Mulgore itself. I will not allow this to happen, and I know that you won't either. Go South, follow the road directly. You know what these beasts look like! Unleash your fury!" Not waiting for his soldiers, the chief charged past them, draping his totem over one brawny shoulder. Despite his age, the bull moved quickly, although the sound of almost a stampede followed after him as the other soldiers turned and followed.

***

Renji kicked aside a few shields, his mouth turned down into a frown as he finally drew aside the flap to the tent that he had called home. Gripping it tightly, the young bull leaned his head on his hand, the tears again starting as he stared downward. Laying upon the floor, with a dozen quilboar corpses surrounding him, was his father. Spears, swords and axes stuck out at odd angles from the larger bull, with the permanent expression of rage fixed upon his face. Shaking his head, Renji took a pair of steps back and whipped the flap back into place, taking a few shaky breathes. "Maybe Mom...."

Glancing around, the trainee moved away from the tent, moving across the area that they had claimed as their yard. Stepping past the one lone tree that they had been lucky to have on their land, Renji glanced down and immediately looked away, letting out a cry of displeasure. His mother's body lay there, a Tauren shield laying across her legs. Even with the bit of armor, it was clear that the lower part of her robes had been ripped off. Forcing himself to look back to his mother, Renji's nose wrinkled as he noticed the charred flesh of the half a dozen quilboar surrounding her. Shaking his head again, the lone Raiken moved back to the road, where he was met by the chief of Taurajo.

Moving down to one knee, the elder bull rested a hand upon the runt's shoulder. "They fought val-"

"Chief...please don't." Renji brushed the hand off of his shoulder, turning his back to him. The chief chewed on his lower lip for a moment before nodding, though he did sigh unhappily.

"What would you like us to do?"

The youth slipping his thumbs into his belt, the tears still slowly trickling down from his eyes and disappearing into his fur. "Move my mother's body into the tent, and remove each and every single quilboar from inside. Then...burn it all down. I will not return to this home."

Despite the gasp of shock from the chief, Renji turned and started walking down the road...away from Taurajo. Waiting for a few moments, the chief then turned, raising his voice a bit to make sure that the lone Raiken heard him. "Where are you going?"

"Red Cloud Mesa. It's time to begin my training."


End file.
